功夫

See also: 工夫

Chinese

		merit; achievement; result merit; achievement; result; service; accomplishment	husband; man
simp. and trad. (功夫)		功	夫
alternative forms		工夫

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): gōngfu

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄥ ˙ㄈㄨ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): гунфу (gunfu, I-I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gung¹ fu¹

• Gan (Wiktionary): gung¹ fu
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): kûng-fû

  (Hailu, HRS): gung^ˋ fu^ˋ

• Eastern Min (BUC): gĕ̤ng-hŭ / gŭng-hŭ
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): gang¹ hu¹
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): kang-hu

  (Teochew, Peng'im): gang¹ hu¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹kon-fu

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: gōngfu
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄥ ˙ㄈㄨ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: gongfů
    • Wade–Giles: kung¹-fu⁵
    • Yale: gūng-fu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gong.fu
    • Palladius: гунфу (gunfu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵ fu²/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 功夫 工夫

  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: гунфу (gunfu, I-I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuŋ²⁴ fou²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: gung¹ fu¹
    • Yale: gūng fū
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gung¹ fu¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: gung¹ fu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵ fuː⁵⁵/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 功夫 工夫

• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: gung¹ fu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuŋ⁴² fu²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kûng-fû
    • Hakka Romanization System: gung^ˊ fu^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gung¹ fu¹
    • Sinological IPA: /kuŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ fu²⁴/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: gung^ˋ fu^ˋ
    • Sinological IPA: /kuŋ⁵³ fu⁵³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: gĕ̤ng-hŭ / gŭng-hŭ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /køyŋ⁵⁵ ^(h-)ŋu⁵⁵/, /kuŋ⁵⁵ ^(h-)ŋu⁵⁵/

Note:

• gĕ̤ng-hŭ - colloquial;
• gŭng-hŭ - literary.

• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: gang¹ hu¹ [Phonetic: gang⁵ ngu¹]
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: gang-hu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ⁵³³⁻¹¹ ^(h-)ŋu⁵³³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: gang¹ hu¹ [Phonetic: gang⁵ ngu¹]
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ⁵⁴⁴⁻²¹ ^(h-)ŋu⁵⁴⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese, Longyan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kang-hu
    • Tâi-lô: kang-hu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kanghw
    • Sinological IPA (Longyan): /kaŋ³³⁴ hu³³⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /kaŋ³³ hu³³/
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kaŋ⁴⁴⁻²² hu⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: gang¹ hu¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kang hu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ³³⁻²³ hu³³/

Note: gang1 hu1 - Jieyang and Pontianak.

• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹kon-fu
    • MiniDict: kon^平 fu
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹kon-fu
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /koŋ⁵⁵ fu²¹/

Noun

功夫

1. time available, required, or spent doing something

   我沒有功夫。／我没有功夫。  ―  Wǒ méiyǒu gōngfu.  ―  I have no time. (I am busy)

   一會兒功夫他就爬上了一個大樹。 [MSC, trad.]
   一会儿功夫他就爬上了一个大树。 [MSC, simp.]

   Yīhuìr gōngfu tā jiù pá shàng le yīge dà shù. [Pinyin]

   He climbed up a tall tree in no time.

2. effort or labor applied to an undertaking, encompassing the actual work, chores, or manpower required

   要花很大的功夫才行。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

   Yào huā hěn dà de gōngfu cái xíng. [Pinyin]

   It won't work unless one expends great effort.

3. degree of mastery, skill, or internal cultivation acquired through prolonged discipline and practice (most notably referring to Chinese martial arts)

   那個演員念臺詞的功夫不錯。 [MSC, trad.]
   那个演员念台词的功夫不错。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nà ge yǎnyuán niàn táicí de gōngfu bùcuò. [Pinyin]

   That actor's skill at reading his lines is not too shabby.

   耍功夫  ―  shuǎ gōngfū  ―  to perform kung fu

   打功夫 [Cantonese]  ―  daa² gung¹ fu¹ [Jyutping]  ―  to perform kung fu

   這是中國少林功夫首次在雅典登臺亮相。 [MSC, trad.]
   这是中国少林功夫首次在雅典登台亮相。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè shì Zhōngguó Shàolín gōngfu shǒucì zài Yǎdiǎn dēng tái liàngxiàng. [Pinyin]

   This was the first time that Chinese Shaolin kung fu was put on display in Athens, Greece.

Usage notes

• Originally, kung fu referred to any skill learned through great effort. Used by the Occident to refer to martial arts (武術／武术 (wǔshù)), kung fu is now used by Chinese to also refer to martial arts, but only since the late twentieth century.

Synonyms

• (efforts):

edit

• 氣力 / 气力 (qìlì)
• 氣命 / 气命 (Hakka)
• 氣脈 / 气脉 (qìmài) (chiefly Hakka)
• 精力 (jīnglì)
• 精神

• (skill):

edit

• 一手
• 人才 (réncái)
• 伎倆 / 伎俩 (jìliǎng) (literary)
• 俊才 (jùncái)
• 兩手 / 两手 (liǎngshǒu)
• 力 (lì) (literary, or in compounds)
• 力量 (lìliàng)
• 功力 (gōnglì)
• 天才 (tiāncái) (genius)
• 才具 (cáijù) (formal)
• 才力 (cáilì)
• 才器 (cáiqì) (literary)
• 才幹 / 才干 (cáigàn)
• 才情 (cáiqíng)
• 手段 (shǒuduàn)
• 手法 (shǒufǎ)
• 手眼 (shǒuyǎn)
• 才能 (cáinéng)
• 手腕 (shǒuwàn)
• 手腕子 (shou³ onn³ zr) (Xiang)
• 才華 / 才华 (cáihuá)
• 技巧 (jìqiǎo)
• 把式 (bǎshì) (dialectal)
• 技能 (jìnéng)
• 技藝 / 技艺 (jìyì)
• 技術 / 技术 (jìshù)
• 招數 / 招数 (zhāoshù)
• 本事
• 本領 / 本领 (běnlǐng)
• 材幹 / 材干 (cáigān) (Classical Chinese)
• 能力 (nénglì)
• 能為 / 能为 (néngwéi) (literary, dialectal)
• 能耐 (néngnài) (colloquial)
• 能量 (néngliàng)
• 花頭 / 花头 (Wu)
• 著數 / 着数
• 解數 / 解数
• 資力 / 资力 (zīlì)
• 路數 / 路数 (lùshù)
• 身手 (shēnshǒu)
• 道行

• (kung fu): 武術／武术 (wǔshù), 武功 (wǔgōng), 武藝／武艺 (wǔyì)
• (work): 工作 (gōngzuò), 活計／活计 (huójì)

Derived terms

• 下功夫 (xià gōngfu)
• 功夫不負有心人 / 功夫不负有心人 (gōngfu bùfù yǒuxīnrén)
• 功夫片
• 功夫茶 (gōngfuchá)
• 只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針 / 只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针 (zhǐyào gōngfu shēn, tiěchǔ mó chéng zhēn)
• 吃功夫 (chī gōngfu)
• 床上功夫
• 抽功夫
• 沒的功夫 / 没的功夫
• 白費功夫 / 白费功夫
• 磨功夫
• 筆下功夫 / 笔下功夫
• 箱底功夫
• 費功夫 / 费功夫
• 頂上功夫 / 顶上功夫

Descendants

• → English: kung fu

Adjective

功夫

1. (chiefly Southern Min or Teochew) meticulous, exquisite, or careful as a result of invested effort

References

• “功夫”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.
• 郭启熹 [Guo, Qixi], editor (2016), “功夫”, in 龙岩方言词典 LONGYAN FANGYAN CIDIAN [Dictionary of Longyan dialect] (overall work in Min Nan and Mandarin), Xiamen: 鷺江出版社 [Lujiang Publishing House], →ISBN, page 448.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
功	夫
かん Grade: 4	ふう Grade: 4
irregular

Etymology 1

Borrowing from English kung fu, from Chinese 功夫 (gōngfu).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) カンフー [káꜜǹfùù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [kã̠ɰ̃ɸɯ̟ː]

Noun

功夫(カンフー) • (kanfū) 
(alternative reading katakana クンフー, rōmaji kunfū)

1. kung fu: Chinese martial arts
2. (uncommon) efforts (devoted to a task)
   • バーチャファイター

     「あなたには功夫(クンフー)が足(た)りないわ！」

     “Anata ni wa kunfū ga tarinaiwa!”

     "Your gongfu isn't enough!"

See also

• 拳法(けんぽう) (kenpō, generic term for "martial arts")
• マーシャルアーツ (māsharuātsu, “martial arts”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
功	夫
く Grade: 4	ふう Grade: 4
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) くふう [kùfúú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ɸɯ̟ː]

Noun

功(く)夫(ふう) • (kufū) 

1. alternative spelling of 工夫 (kufū): a device, scheme; dedication to spiritual improvement, especially in Zen meditation

Verb

功(く)夫(ふう)する • (kufū suru) suru (stem 功(く)夫(ふう)し (kufū shi), past 功(く)夫(ふう)した (kufū shita))

1. alternative spelling of 工夫 (kufū): to devise, come up with, contrive

Conjugation

Conjugation of "功夫する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	功夫し	くふうし	kufū shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	功夫し	くふうし	kufū shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	功夫する	くふうする	kufū suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	功夫する	くふうする	kufū suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	功夫すれ	くふうすれ	kufū sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	功夫せよ¹ 功夫しろ²	くふうせよ¹ くふうしろ²	kufū seyo¹ kufū shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	功夫される	くふうされる	kufū sareru
Causative	功夫させる 功夫さす	くふうさせる くふうさす	kufū saseru kufū sasu
Potential	功夫できる	くふうできる	kufū dekiru
Volitional	功夫しよう	くふうしよう	kufū shiyō
Negative	功夫しない	くふうしない	kufū shinai
Negative continuative	功夫せず	くふうせず	kufū sezu
Formal	功夫します	くふうします	kufū shimasu
Perfective	功夫した	くふうした	kufū shita
Conjunctive	功夫して	くふうして	kufū shite
Hypothetical conditional	功夫すれば	くふうすれば	kufū sureba

¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative